Smoker&#39;s appliance



Nov. 18, 1941. E. MACAULEY SMOKERS APPLIANCE Filed May 16, 1940IIIIIIIII m m Wu Z a 0 4 4 3 Patented Nov. 18, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE SMOKERS APPLIANCE Edward Macauley, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.,'assignor to Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation ofMichigan Application May 16, 1940, Serial No. 335,642

6 Claims.

This invention relates to motor vehicle accessory devices and moreparticularly to equipment for smokers.

It is customary to equip motor vehicles with an ash receiver and alighter. is usually in the form of a receptacle having a lid that mustbe opened and closed by the user. The lighter usually consists of amember carrying a wire that can be electrically heated to incandescenceby an electric circuit, usually established by manual pressure againstthe member, and then removed from its support to obtain a light. Thesedevices are now separate and must be individually operated.

It is an object of the present invention to 1 reduce one of the manualefforts usually required prior to smoking in a motor vehicle 'byutilizing a lighter for releasing a self-opening lid of an ash receiver.

Another object of the invention is to provide latching means for aself-opening ash receptacle lid that can be released by a slightpressure against an adjacent lighter.

Another object of the invention is to provide latching means for aself-opening ash receiver lid that will be released whenever a lightermember is pressed in to be heated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a compact device forapplication to a motor vehicle which includes a removable incandescentlighter and an ash receptacle latched lid that is released and openedwhen the lighter is actuated.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription taken in connection with the drawing, which forms a part ofthis receptacle lid latched and the lighter in normal position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the lighter pressed insufficiently to unlatch the receptacle lid.

The device incorporating the invention is shown applied to the forwardend of an arm rest of a seat II in a motor vehicle body 12, but it canbe mounted in various other places within the vehicle body if desired.The device is formed and fitted so that it replaces a portion The ashreceiver of the usual arm rest and thus conforms in outline to the usualoutline of an arm rest.

The frame I3 that carries the device is substantially triangular inoutline and comprises an upstanding wall I B having'an inturned flangeforming an upper wall l4. The upper wall forms an opening through whichan ash receptacle ll extends, the receptacle having a flange l8 thatrests on the upper wall adjacent the opening and an inwardly extendingsnubber I5. Alid I8 is hinged to the upper wall of the frame and springl9 engages the frame and lid in a relation to exert suflicient force tonormally open the lid. The under side of the lid is formed with a recess20 over which is secured a keeper plate 2| having anopening therethroughaligning with lid opening 20, and a depending lip 22.

At the rear end of the frame provision is made for housing a lighterdevice of conventional incandescent type and includes a member 23 havingan incandescent wire 24 at one end and a button 25 at the other end bymeans of which an occupant of the vehicle body can manipulate themember. The frame also carries a contact 25 with which a terminal 27 ofthe wire 24 can be pressed into contact with to heat the wire. Thiscontact is made by pressing the lighter member inwardly of the frame andafter the wire is heated the lighter member can be pulled out of theframe to light a cigar or cigarette.

A tubular housing is fixed to the frame and forms a support for thelighter device. This housing has abutment members 3| turned outwardly atits forward end for receiving the rear end of a coil spring 32. Theforward end of this spring bears against a latch member 33 having atongue 34 extending through a slot 35 in the frame top wall that alignswith the opening in the keeper plate and the recess 20 in the lid whenthe lid is closed. The body portion of the latch member traverses thehousing carrying the lighter device and is formed with an opening 36through which the lighter member extends. Spring 32 normally exertssufficient force against the latch member to hold it in its outermostposition where it will engage over the keeper plate lip 22 to retain thelid in closed position.

Provision is made to release the latch member by actuator means operatedby the lighter member when it is pushed inwardly in a direction to heatthe incandescent wire. Thus when the lighter member is pushed in, andpreferably only part way, the latch will be moved to release the lid sothat spring l9 will open it prior to the smoker obtaining a light. Tothis end an abutment sleeve 40 is slidably mounted in the housing 30 andhas an abutment flange 3| at its outer end against which the latchmember is pressed by spring 32. An actuator sleeve 42 is slidablymounted on the lighter member and has a flange 43 that is adapted toabut flange 4| when the lighter member is inserted in the housing. Acoil spring 44 surrounds the lighter member and is enclosed by theactuator sleeve, one end of such spring bearing against a flange 45 onthe lighter member and the other end of such spring bearing against theinwardly directed inner end of the actuator sleeve.

The actuator sleeve and spring 44 form a unitary structure with thelighter member and are movable to a limited extent in an axial directionrelative thereto. The upstanding Wall is formed with an opening 46through which the lighter member and. actuator sleeve can pass wheninserted in or removed from the housing. The lighter member is shown ina normal position in Fig. 3 with the receptacle lid closed and latched.When the lighter member is pushed in, pressure is applied against spring44 by flange 45 and this spring pressure acts against the actuatorsleeve to move it with the lighter member, only to a slightly lessextent. Such movement of the actuator sleeve is transmitted to theabutment sleeve by flange 43 and abutment 4| carries the latch memberrearwardly against the force of spring 32. A slight movement of thelatch member will release it from the keeper so that spring l9 can openthe lid. The extent of the movement of the lighter member required torelease the latch can be arranged as desired, and thus the lid need notbe released until the lighter member has been moved inwardly to connectterminal 21 of the wire 24 with the live contact 26.

It will be seen that by a single movement inwardly of the lighter memberthe receptacle lid can be released and the wire of the member heated toincandescence. It will also be seen that the lighter member can beutilized to release the lid latch member upon a slight movement thereofwithout heating the wire. The receptacle lid will always beautomatically opened when the occupant of the vehicle body presses thelighter member inwardly preparatory to smoking.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a specificembodiment, the principles involved are susceptible of numerous otherapplications which will readily occur to persons skilled in the art. Theinvention is therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A motor vehicle accessory device comprising a frame carrying areceptacle, a self-opening lid hinged on the frame over the receptacle,a latch member operable to hold the lid in closed position, a lighterdevice carried by the frame including a member carrying a wire of theincandescent type, said member being removable from the frame andmovable in the frame to heat the wire, and means operable in response toinward movement of the member for releasing the latch member from saidlid.

2. A motor vehicle accessory device comprising a frame carrying an ashreceptacle, a spring opened lid hinged on the frame and operable toclose the receptacle, a latch member carried by the frame, spring meansnormally urging said latch member into retaining position with said lid,and a lighter of the incandescent type operable in the frame to releasethe latch member from the lid.

3. In an accessory device, the combination of an ash receptacle lidlatch member, a lighter member of the incandescent type, and latchmember control means operable in response to movement of said lightermember.

4. A motor vehicle accessory device comprising a frame carrying areceptacle, a self-opening lid structure hinged on the frame, a latchmember engageable with said lid to retain it in closed position, anabutment on the frame, spring means bearing against said abutment andurging said latch member into lid retaining position, a lighter memberof the incandescent type movable inwardly of said frame to be heated,and means responsive to inward movement of said lighter member formoving said latch member to release said lid.

5. A motor vehicle accessory device comprising a frame carrying areceptacle, a self-opening lid for the receptacle hinged on the frame, alatch member engageable with said lid to retain it in closed position, aspring normally urging said latch member into lid retaining position, alighter member of the incandescent type carried by the frame, and meansincluding a spring operable by movement of the lighter member to shiftthe latch member to lid releasing position.

6. A motor vehicle accessory device comprising a frame carrying areceptacle, a self-opening lid for the receptacle hinged to the frame, aflanged lighter member of the incandescent type removably mounted in theframe adjacent the receptacle and movable inwardly of the frame to beheated, a latch member for retaining the lid in closed position havingan open portion through which the lighter member extends, an abutment onthe frame, a spring between the latch member and the abutment normallyurging the latch member outwardly into lid retaining position, anaxially movable abutment sleeve extending through the open portion ofthe latch member, an actuator sleeve carried on said lighter member andengageable with the outer end of the abutment sleeve, and a coil springbearing at one end against the inner end of the actuator sleeve and atthe other end against the flange of said lighter member, said coilspring and actuator sleeve having a limited axial movement on thelighter member but forming a unitary structure therewith.

EDWARD MACAULEY.

